


Pushing Through

by redmoon3



Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Child Abuse, Gen, I HATE writing, What am I doing, but I like it???, nothing too bad though, please enjoy, warning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-18
Updated: 2020-05-26
Packaged: 2020-09-07 02:21:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,572
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20301856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/redmoon3/pseuds/redmoon3
Summary: I'm awful at titles and summaries T_TDamian’s home life isn’t the best and the stress of it all is making him want to end it all just to get away from it. Somewhere along the lines he meets a bunch of people that make him (reluctantly) want to live.Lol, maybe this story will be disappointing. I am not the best writer.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I actually wrote this in another fandom, but wanted to try and see what it would look like here. Ages and personalities are gonna be different than canon, sorry if you don't like that!
> 
> **Slight Warning: There is a vague, vague, almost non-existent insinuation of contemplating suicide, but nothing explicitly said about it and only in the first chapter.**
> 
> Just some quick notes, though it might be obvious, lol.
> 
> "Blahblah" - Talking
> 
> _blahblah_ \- Thoughts

_Today, today is the day that I will do it. Yeah, today._ I nod, steeling my resolve.

I think this as I walk through the park that I always do when returning home from school. It's a nice park with a big play ground and a lot of open space to run around in. It's a place that's always filled with children laughing and adults talking, as well as couples strolling along the paths. It has a very pleasant atmosphere surrounding it. It makes walking through here my favorite part of the day. It makes me think that I can have all of that, too. Today, I regret it because I know it will never happen.

I kept walking, trying to avoid looking at anything in particular, but I am curious. Since earlier this year I noticed something different when I walked through here. It wasn't something noticeable unless you were paying attention, and I guess I was, and it was a little odd.

I look around and sure enough the oddity is there again. He is someone that I noticed immediately. He is always surrounded by books, so I imagine he must be a student. No uniform, so maybe university? It isn't strange for students to hang around the park, but he is different somehow. Usually when people go to certain places often they settle in a spot that becomes "theirs", so to speak, somewhere they always, day after day, sit. It becomes a part of their routine to go to that one spot. He, however, doesn't seem to have something like that. I have not seen him in the same spot twice (so far); he would, day after day, be in a different area of the park.

Yesterday, he was sitting on a park bench that was furthest away from everyone and today he is sitting under a large tree that was farthest away from everyone. He is never with anyone and he seems to be avoiding any kind of interaction.

He is an interesting guy. I always wonder why I am so aware of him, but can never answer why. It isn't like he ever does anything; he just kind of sits there; either looking at the books he brings with him or at things around the park; except for the people that are all around there. Mostly, he looks kind of listless, although maybe those are just my thoughts. I can't really tell because his face is always blank; he gives nothing away.

He is a handsome guy, I noticed. Girls and even women looking (even outright staring) are not a rare occurrence. He has shiny black hair swept away from his face in a way that framed his facial features nicely, and his eyes are a shade of blue that reminds me of the depths of the ocean (as cheesy as it sounds). In other people's eyes he might be considered model material. _He sure is eye catching_, I think absently.

Suddenly, he looks up and I am looking directly into his eyes. It is so sudden that my mind doesn't register the movement and I continue to stare. When his eyes narrow a little my mind catches up to the action and I quickly look away. _How embarrassing._

I feel kind of bad for staring at him so openly. I know from experience how annoying and uncomfortable it is. After a moment I shrugged, _oh well_.

I glance at my watch and quicken my pace. Mother will be home soon and I know if she sees me there's no way I will be able to do it.

I greet our next door neighbor, Mary Knight, like every other day. She's a lovely old woman that always bribes me with food when she needs help around her house. I never minded helping her; I would do it for nothing, but she always insists and I can't refuse. She's a nice woman that makes me wonder what it would be like to have a mother like that.

I want to go in quickly, but she, like always, has other plans.

"Damian, dear, how was school today?" She asks conversationally, as she waters her plants or at least tries to. She couldn't quite lift the watering can high enough. How much water is in that thing?

I reach over. "I'll do that, Ms. Knight." I take it from her hands, with a bit of a struggle from her end. Some things she insists on doing herself. "Really, I want to." I smile a little and she relents. It's pretty heavy, actually. "School was good." I add.

"Oh, your mother is home," she comments absently and my heart sinks a little. "Hello, Talia."

I looked over my shoulder and see mother walking up the pathway. "Hello, Ms. Knight." She smiles a little too sweetly. "I see Damian is giving you a hand."

"Yes, he is. You have raised a very good child, Talia." She praises, making mom's smile widen. "I'd better head in. Come in once you're done, dear, and I'll get you a snack."

"Yes, Ms. Knight." After patting my hand she headed in.

"You are so dependable, Damian." Somehow it sounds condescending coming from mother.

She stares at me absently. "It feels like just yesterday you were a baby crying in my arms and when I blinked you were suddenly a teenager." I wonder why she even said that; it doesn't even sound like it matters to her.

It seems like she's doing that a lot lately, though. Reminiscing about when I was a child, as if she actually cares. It makes me a little sad because I wish she did, even a little.

Once I was finished I went into Ms. Knight's house and took a few of the home made cookies that she offered me. We sat and chatted for a while, like we always do after I finished a job. I ask if she needed help with anything else and when she said no we bid each other goodbye.

Going into my own home I sigh when I walk into a seemingly empty house. Mother must have gone to her room like she always does when she gets home. I blink when hear sounds from the kitchen. Looks like mother is cooking tonight; I walk over to her.

"Can I help with anything?" I'm not the best at cooking, but I can do simple things.

"Sure. Come stir the pasta for me." She orders.

As I walk past her I notice that she has flower all over her and I wonder how she could have possibly managed that, but then she doesn't cook often. I can't help but snort a little.

"What's so funny?" She demands.

"How does someone manage to get that much flower all over them self?" I ask simply.

A blank look takes over her face and I wonder if I said too much. Before I can question her, flour is thrown in my face and on my clothes. I gape at her and she shocks me by suddenly laughing out loud. My stare turns to awe; I can count on one hand the amount of times I have seen mother laugh like that, none were because of me.

"Your face! Oh my god! My side hurts." She is clutching her side. She is laughing so hard and so much that I feel a laugh bubbling its way up my chest and I couldn't stop it from bursting forward.

It took a few minutes but once we calm down we stare at each other silently for a moment. I could still see a slight smile on her face and I could feel one on mine. It's the first time I have felt like mother may care for me.

Going back to our tasks my smile fades. Looks like today isn't the day either. I start to wonder if the day will ever come. It feels like it is always being put off somehow. If it is true that something is intervening it must mean something. Looking up I silently ask God what he has planned for me.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this story is definitely not going to be about what it was originally going to be about... So... Yeah... Hope you enjoy or not, lol

Morning comes and when I get up its eerily quiet. Glancing at the clock I wince when i see the time: 10:30. It may be Saturday, but that doesn't mean I can sleep in like this. I go about getting ready for the day quickly and quietly and head towards the door once I'm done.

Opening the door to my room I look in the hall. No mom in sight. _Ok, just have to make it to the door_. Not wanting to face mom's ever changing moods, yesterday was definitely a one time thing, I quickly walk to the front door.

"And where do you think you're going?" Mom's cool voice comes from behind me, with my hand on the door knob I am frozen in place. "Come here." She orders.

Breathing in slowly I silently obey her. "Good morning, mother." I greet politely in an effort to appease her.

"Good morning, mother." She mocks and I resist the urge to look down. "What timedo you think it is?" She questions. I stay quiet knowing full well if I speak it won't be good, but in the end it isn't good either way. She slaps me in a way that her finger nails manage to scratch my face. "Answer me when I ask you a question!" She says harshly.

I bite my lip. "10:30." Is all I manage to say without my voice breaking.

"10:30." She confirms before continuing. "You wake up this late in the day, do nothing around here, and just go to leave without so much as saying a word. Who do you think you are? You think you can just do as you please because you're a kid?"

Again I stay quiet, not wanting to rile her up even more, and again it's no good. This time it's not her hand she hit me with, but her fist. Stumbling a little I end up falling on my butt. "Mother..." I sniffle a little and am horrified. She gets even worse when I cry; I force the tears back as best I can and stand up shakily.

A cruel smile stretches across her lips. "Since you like going out as you please why don't you go out and don't come back." Her voice is sweet in that way it is when she actually decides to take her medicine.

"Mother-"

"Get out!" She hisses, raising her hand threateningly.

Turning around I run out the door. I run, not knowing where I am going and not caring. There is no where for me to go anyway, so it doesn't matter where I end up.

In the end I end up at the park near school. Sniffling a little I sit on a park bench and stare blankly at the tree straight ahead of me, not really seeing or hearing anything. Once I manage to calm down I am aware of people staring at me and whispering.

"Look at his face..."

"Probably a fight."

"... Delinquent..."

"Kids these days. No self control."

I don't know whether to laugh or cry at the snide comments. Standing up I walk over to the farthest tree in the park where no one is around and sit against it, drawing my knees to my chest and resting my forehead on them. I get lost in thought, _what can I do? Is there anything I can do? I can't leave home, I'm too young. I don't have any other family; all I have is mother. Do I just live with it?_

That last thought hit me hard. _Is that all I can do?_ I wonder._ Live like this until I become an adult?_

"Hey, you ok, kid?" Someone suddenly asks.

Surprised, I look up and inwardly curse when I see his eyes blue eyes widen. I forgot about my face.

"Those are gonna leave quite the mark." He whistles.

I grimace. As if the black eye won't be hard enough to explain, the scratches are gonna suck.

"Did you get into a fight with a cat?" He jokes, black hair rustling in the wind.

_He looks familiar_, I think absently before what he said sinks in and I feel anger bubble up in me. _How dare he make fun of my situation? Who does he think he is?_

Opening my mouth to snap at him I ended up breathing in deeply instead and slowly letting it out feeling my tense body relax. _It's not like he knows the situation_, I remind myself.

I think about what he said, a fight with a cat. I latch onto it immediately and nod eagerly. It's the perfect excuse. "I tried to pet a stray cat... He didn't like it." I respond quietly.

He studies me silently for a moment and I unconsciously hold my breath. "That sucks." He finally says. "Well, see ya."

Watching him walk away I realize why he looks familiar. He's in one of my classes... Great.

I stay sitting against the tree for a while longer debating whether to even bother going home. I can't really, considering I got kicked out. It's not the first time though, so might as well return. Looking at my phone I am surprised to see that it is already 2 in the afternoon.

Resigning myself I get up, dust off my jeans and start the walk home. On the way I go into a small cafe and order a grilled cheese, avoiding the questioning looks the cashier is giving me. Grabbing my food I walk over to an open table on the other side of the cafe, where there aren’t any people seated and start to eat.

Feeling eyes on me I look up and am met with those same blue eyes as the other day. I almost choke on my drink, but manage to not die from my coughing fit. I look back down at my food and continue eating, ignoring his staring. Finishing up quickly I practically run out the door still feeling his eyes on me. _What was that about_...

Looking at my phone again I had spent a good amount of time just hanging out at the cafe. It's already 4pm. Dread filling me I walk home slowly, but quickly lighten up when I see the car gone. _Ok, great. I'll just go to my room and stay in there for the rest of the night._ I nod silently at my plan and go inside. 

Inside my room I take a shower and go about cleaning up the scratch marks on my face, hoping they aren't infected from not treating them sooner. Placing a bandage on my cheek I smile bitterly at my new back eye and the bandage taking up half my face. Hopefully it's not as bad on Monday. 

Trying to take my mind off things I watch tv for a few hours, but quickly turn it off when I hear the front door open. I stare at the ceiling silently, hoping she would go straight to her and breath a sight of relief when she does.

I lay still, just now realizing how tired I actually am and wait for sleep to take over. I let myself get hopeful. _Tomorrow will be better_, I assure myself as I slip into a dreamless sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There it is. Hope you enjoyed it. I will probably have to go back to edit the first chapter to match the new direction it’s going in... eventually...

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! ^_^


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